giza | PhilCon 2006 Con Report

So, I took a day trip into Center City Philly yesterday to visit PhilCon for the day. It was my first ever PhilCon, despite having lived in the area for 5 years now. The convention was held in the Sheraton Hotel at 17th and Race, formerly known as the Wyndham hotel. This was the same hotel that we held Anthrocon 2005 in. :-)

I mostly went there to hit the Dealers' Room, where I picked up some Arthur C. Clarke books (Childhood's End, and A Fall of Moondust) and then hit some panels. The panels I attended were:

- "Authors Who Have Confronted Evil First Hand" - This panel consisted of several science fiction writers talking about their experiences with "evil" characters from some of the more popular books (such as Golum from LoTR) and their background, their motivations, etc.

-

filkertom's filk concert - Even though I was at both Anthrocon and ConClave, I haven't yet had a chance to see any of Tom Smith's concerts. I attended this one and was quite entertained! (And there were Badger Pajamas involved!)

- Klingon 101: Talk like an Alien - This was a brief introduction to the Klingon language. It was hosted by a gentleman who knew the material (including pronunciation) and was good in front of a crowd. That made for an entertaining and informative panel.

- Queer Tales - This was a look at homosexuality in science fiction literature over the last 50+ years. Some fantasy worlds were discussed where it was an accepted practice. There were some other worlds discussed where it was more of an off-beat thing that not all of the characters were into. What really surprised me was that some of Diane Duane's works were mentioned. (She was GoH at AC 2006, recall) I'm going to have to take a much closer look at some of her books!

I was hungry at that point, so I got dinner.

As far as people I saw at the con, I bumped into James Walton from the DI which was a pleasant surprise. I also saw

m_c_t at one point during the con. I bumped into a fellow subscriber to PA-Furry there as well, turns out that she attends a nearby college. Small world.

The only thing I did not like about the con is that all of the panels were bumped up against each other. That is, one panel would go from 12 to 1, then the next would go from 1 to 2, then from 2 to 3, etc. This meant that, in theory, when a panel ended the entire room was expected to clear out, possibly reset chairs, and a group of new people for the next panel were supposed to come in, all in less than a minute. What really happened is that most of the panels I went to got a late start, around 10 minutes after the hour. On my end, it also made grabbing food/visiting the bathroom between panels a real challenge. I had to dash from one panel to the next.

Overall, I enjoyed myself at PhilCon, and I think I'll go back there next year.